101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion

The 101st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, known as the 501st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion from 22 September 1944, was a German Waffen-SS heavy tank battalion that was active from 19 July 1943 to May 1945 during World War II. The battalion was created from two new heavy tank companies, and it was assigned to the I SS Panzer Corps and the 1st SS Panzer Division Leibstandarte SS Adolf Hitler. From August to October 1943, the battalion served in Italy, and two companies were sent to fight against the Soviets while the rest of the battalion stayed in the West, moving to the Paris area on 1 June 1944. From 6 June 1944 to 5 July 1944, during Operation Overlord, the battalion lost 15 of its 45 Tiger tanks, and it lost virtually all its remaining Tigers in the Falaise Gap and the subsequent retreat from France. On 9 September, the unit was ordered to rest and refit with new Tiger tanks as the 501st SS Heavy Panzer Battalion, and it had 32 tanks by 15 March 1945 (8 of which were operational). During the Battle of the Bulge, the battalion fought as a part of Joachim Peiper's kampfgruppe, and it suffered heavy losses at La Gleize. In May 1945, Sturmbannfuhrer Heinrich Kling surrendered the battalion to the Allies.